1998/9 Baja, Mexico / California Trip

Wednesday, 12/30/98

Day 12: Mexicali, Tecate, San Diego & Aneheim

Sierra de Jaurez Mountains in N BajaWe left San Felipe at 7:00 and drove north on highway 5. We were stopped by the military with no problems at the junction which went to either Ensenada or Mexicali. We continued north toward Mexicali. There was another inspection about another 50 miles north where we were waved on and never had to stop. The land around here is very dry as there is a dried up lake that we pass thru with a mountain range on the left/ west side and the Sea of Cortez farther out on the east side. We were pulled over about 50 miles before Mexicali. I didn't know what I had done wrong but he pulled me over as I passed a truck that was stalled on the road. I got out of the truck and asked what I was doing wrong. He asked if the truck was ours and if he could see the registration. Cindy handed it to me and after I showed it to him he said we could go. I never did find out why he stopped us but was not going to ask questions if he was letting us go. The police did turn around and went back towards San Felipe.

As we got closer to Mexicali there was a black haze over the sky as this was definitely an industrial area. We passed several turn-offs that went to small towns northeast of Mexicali. Once near Mexicali, we had a hard time finding the actual city center. This is a large town of 700,000. We finally parked the car near the Cultural Center and went to look for breakfast. We found a a Chinese-Mexican restaurant where the waitress didn't speak any English. We ordered pancakes, tacos & rice for Jacob and he never did get the rice. I asked of coffee and got coffee with cream. We finished our food and left not impressed with breakfast. We walked around town for a little while and looked at merchandise. I bought three pairs of jeans for $9 each and we also bought the kids some toys a department store. We left town after a couple hours and had a hard time finding the highway to go west to Tecate. At a stoplight I asked a policeman in the car next to me how to go to Tijuana. He pointed right as we were in the center lane on a red light. The police officer didn't see anybody coming and told me to go thru the red light and turn right. It was a good thing he did because I would of been lost for another thirty minutes.

City Park in Tecante We were now driving toward Tecate on a new four-lane highway that has a small toll. We get into Tecate around noon and parked near the town square. Cindy and I like this town because it is authentic with not much tourism considering how close it is to the border, yet still big enough to have nice restaurants. It was siesta time when we got there as there was music being played in the park and people were also playing chess and checkers. I walked into a book store and could not find any English books so didn't stay there very long. We walked around town for about an hour as we got the kids some ice cream, showed them the hotel we stayed in last time we were here and just relaxed in the city park. The border crossing is only a couple blocks away and this is the best way to go back into the states. Don't ever come thru Tijuana border unless you have to. It took only ten minutes to cross this border with no problems.

We were now back in the states after nine days. Cindy and I had wondered if anything important had happened. Like the President being impeached or capturing Saddam Hussain. The only thing that happened was that Seattle fired both football coaches for the Huskies and Seahawks. We didn't miss much. It sounded strange to turn on American radio stations and get all of the commercials and talk shows after listening to Mexican music on and off for nine days. The drive west is still thru dry land with rolling hills for about 30 miles until we get near Lemon Grove. We stopped here to get some American hamburgers and call my mom. You could immediately tell how rushed everybody was back in the US. We took the hamburgers and drove up to Mt Helix. This would be a winding road to the top of a hill that had a open amphitheater that overlooked San Diego and west towards Lemon Grove. Cindy and I relaxed there while the kids played and ran up amd down the steps of the amphitheater. Hardly anyone was around. It wasn'tt a very good view today as it was very hazy.

???? in Balboa Park in San Diego Water Fountain with Full Moon iin Balboa Park We went into San Diego around 3:00 and drove around Old Town and weren't impressed with what we saw just driving by. It looked like a tourist trap with little shops and restaurants. I might like that some day, but it all looked like it had been remodeled and with not much history left. I guess after being in Mexico I was expecting horses, cactus and missions and only saw older buildings that had been remodeled. We drove next to Balboa Park and would spend the rest of the afternoon there. It was now 5:00 and everybody was leaving. We walked by the zoo but was too late to go in today. Most of the museums had also closed at 4:00. We did go on the carousel, walk thru the arboretum, look at a mineral display and took some pictures of buildings and fountains. It was a nice evening to visit on a warm day and we will visit here again. We did see one musician who was playing his quitar with his feet and were never quite sure if he hands or arms. It was amazing that he used his toes to play the chords.

Playing guitar with feet in Balboa park We left around 7:00 to start looking for a hotel. Once I got on I-5 though, it was better to just go straight into Anaheim and try to get a hotel for two nights as we would be going to Disneyland tomorrow. We found a room at a Motel 6 on Chapman Ave. which is only a couple miles from Disneyland.. We were able to get it for two nights at $50 a night. There was also a Denny's here as we ate dinner and then put the kids to bed around 10:00.. We waited for them to go to sleep and went to Denny's for a couple drinks before going to sleep around midnight.

We drove 400 miles today, 4200 total

  • Day 13

  • Introduction